Desolate streets, devastating destruction

Being in Israel fortuitously during this war, SA Jewish Report photojournalist Ilan Ossendryver has taken photographs and is writing a daily diary for readers. Here are two days of his thoughts.

13 June

While the missiles rain down on us, Israelis scramble with tired eyes to their nearest bomb shelters.

Everything is closed. Schools and government offices are shut until further notice. The streets are desolate, and families are worried about their children and not venturing far from bomb shelters. The extent of the destruction of buildings and the deaths at the hands of Iranian missiles has had a sobering effect on the people. They are taking the instructions from the Home Front Command seriously.

The day is calm, but as the end of the day comes, quietness sets in, with dread at the sound of the warning app broadcasting how much time you have before air raid sirens break the air to tell you to go to bomb shelters.

A South African woman and her daughter in Tel Aviv scrambled out of their apartment trying to reach the nearest shelter as their building doesn’t have one. Above their heads, the Iranian missiles were flying in causing huge explosions.

Thousands of Israelis are stuck abroad, and many foreigners are stuck in Israel as the airport has been shut down indefinitely.

And so, we wait for evening to see what it brings, never forgetting that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Air Force have our country under guard.

14 June

The roads across the country remain mostly quiet, with Israelis not venturing far from their bomb shelters and safe rooms.

While it’s devastating that people have been killed by missiles fired by Iran, it’s a miracle that there haven’t been more casualties. The answer is two-fold. First, there’s the adherence to the protocols put out by the Home Front instructing citizens to stay near a bomb shelter so they can go there when a siren goes off. Then, we have the IDF and Air Force taking out incoming missiles.

Sadly, some missiles have landed, causing destruction of entire neighbourhoods.

Walking around Israel’s “Ground Zero” and capturing the devastation, it takes your breath away to see what destruction missiles, rockets, and bombs can wreak.

Residents walk around in a daze, having lost everything.

When the IDF carries out a mission, it takes every precaution not to harm civilians. Iranian missiles are fired at civilian centres without warning. That’s a crime in itself.

Israelis are resilient. This will be just another chapter in the history of this country.